There is no formal announcement yet, and ABC is not commenting, but word of Scandal‘s long-rumored end date has started to get out and people working on the shows have been told this will be the final season.

I hear the size of Scandal‘s final season is still in flux. Its current sixth season, as well as Season 3, were abbreviated due to star Washington’s pregnancies. Because Scandal is close in format to Shondaland’s serialized thriller How To Get Away With Murder, which airs 15 episodes a season, I hear Scandal will likely produce fewer than 22 episodes, with the exact count driven by the creative, depending on the needs of the show’s final story arc.

While it’s had its up and downs creatively, Scandal continues to hold up well in the ratings. Its sixth season opened with its biggest audience and best 18-49 rating in a year.

Coming from humble beginnings — Scandal started as a low-key 7-episode midseason replacement in spring 2012 — the soapy political thriller blossomed in Season 2 to a water-cooler show and a pop culture staple that became known for OMG moments — plot twists at the end of each episode that became its signature.

The news of the series’ end date becoming official was first reported by TVLine.